Alberta’s Licensed Practice Nurses (LPNs) and Health Care Aides have voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike, barely a week after the Smith government legislated teachers back to work.
The vote comes after the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE), the union representing the two groups, rejected the government’s latest offer of a 12 per cent salary increase over 4 years, citing unsafe working conditions and stagnant wages.
The union could walk off the job as early as November 17 if negotiations with their employer continue to stall.
“[LPNs] are doing 84 per cent of what RNs do but only getting paid 67 per cent,” said AUPE President Sandra Azocar, in a November 5 press conference. The union is advocating for a 40 to 55 per cent wage increase, a far cry from the government’s latest offer.
LPNs are unified in their demand for change. Many believe they are being taken advantage of as cheap labour, and they are asking for their employer to compensate them fairly for the workload that’s been added to their plate in recent years.
LPNs versus RNs
On paper, RNs have more responsibilities than LPNs. RNs assess a patient’s condition, develop their care plan, and perform advanced procedures. LPNs, on the other hand, are largely responsible for direct patient care, and supposedly work under the supervision of an RN.
However, over the past twenty years, LPNs’ responsibilities have exploded.
“Any senior LPN will say that one of the biggest role changes would be the leadership role,” Jodi Lindal-Jackson of the advocacy organization LPNs for Change told TheRockies.Life via email. “We became bedside educators and leaders to the new RN and LPN nurses. We are now the nurse you go to with questions.”
LPNs have become responsible for training younger RNs, and many experienced LPNs have become the point person in their unit. To add to that, their tasks have also shifted dramatically.
LPNs for Change colleague Kara Adamson Church told a story of needing to flush a patient’s chest tube in the emergency department – an advanced skill that RNs in that department rarely use. Her unit, however, regularly saw this kind of case, so she was called in.
“As an LPN on that unit, I had the professional competency to perform the task, but for nearly half the pay of the RN who could not perform the same task. Make that make sense,” she told TheRockies.Life.
Why 55 percent?
The union’s ask of 55 per cent may be shocking but LPNs’ added responsibilities and cost of living increases make it not a huge ask, said one LPN, who spoke to TheRockies.Life on condition of anonymity.
“We miss major life moments to be at work with your loved ones. Work evenings, weekends and nights, miss bath time and bedtime with our children to be with yours,” she said, adding, “I’ve not had a full Christmas with my family in over six years.”
“I realize we live in a world where everyone is struggling in their day to day life but why are those of us – public servants like healthcare workers and teachers – who everyone relies so heavily on, being villainized and demonized? We’re the ones who are teaching the future and there for you during the worst and hardest moments,” she said.
LPNs for Change
LPNs for Change has been advocating for better working conditions and increased pay for years. The group also works to educate Albertans about the role that LPNs play in the province’s health care system. Among other legislative changes, they aim to have the province recognize LPNs as nurses.
The government has played fast and dirty with LPNs over the years, the group says.
“Our scope of practice is so close to RNs and the government is fully taking advantage of it by treating us as cheap labour,” G. Wong, one of the group’s founders, told TheRockies.Life via email.
“We know what we do. The government knows what we do. Our employer knows what we do. It’s high time we are recognized and paid accordingly,” Wong said.
She believes the strike will be beneficial as it will help educate the public and “shed light on the exploitation of LPNs in Alberta.”
